THE TREE OF LIFE Official HD Trailer
January 2024
Creeks, rivers, and other forms of moving water, including ice, manifest the flow of life itself. A gurgling stream or rushing river, even in midwinter's rest, is the sign that new life is coming forth, even when it is not yet perceptible in a snow-covered landscape. Our life in Christ begins through the saving water of Baptism; since this is so, we have an obligation to protect and save the water. Water pollution is widespread, denying safe drinking water to millions of people.
Overview of January[1]
The first eight days of January fall
during the liturgical season known as Christmas which is represented by the liturgical
color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence
(absolute or restored). The remaining days of January are the beginning of
liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly Time After Epiphany),
which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green is a symbol of hope,
as it is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope
of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious
resurrection. The liturgical color green is worn during prayer of Offices and
Masses of Ordinary Time.
In the first part of January we
continue to rejoice and celebrate Christ's coming at Bethlehem and in our
hearts. We have the wonderful feasts of Mary, Mother of God, where we honor
Mary's highest title, and then we follow the Magi to the crib as they bring
their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh on Epiphany. Finally we reach the
culmination of this season with the Baptism of Our Lord by St. John the
Baptist. With a touch of sadness we take down our decorations and enter into
the liturgical period known as Ordinary Time where we will devote ourselves to
the mystery of Christ in its entirety.
This
is a time of growth and an opportunity to allow the dignity of Sunday to shine
forth prolonging the joy of Easter and Pentecost. Besides those previously
mentioned the month's major feasts include:
Mary Mother of God
(January 1),
Holy Name of Jesus (January 3),
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (January 4),
St. John Neumann (January 5),
St. Andre Bessette (January 6),
St. Anthony, Abbot (January 17),
Sts. Fabian and Sebastian (January 20),
St. Francis de Sales (January 24),
Conversion of St. Paul (January 25),
Sts. Timothy and Titus (January 26),
St. Angela Merici (January 27),
St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28)
The optional memorials of St. Raymond of Penafort
(January 7), St. Agnes (January 21), and St. John Bosco (January
31) are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.
The Winter Season
The opening days of January may be cold and nature bleak, but the domestic church still glows warm with the peace and joy of Christmas. We dedicate the New Year to Mary on the January 1st Solemnity honoring her as Mother of God; and on January 7, the Solemnity of Epiphany, we rejoice with her, as her Son is adored by the three Wise Men.
Herald John, who ushered in the Advent season, is present once again to close Christmastide on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (The First Luminous Mystery), and to open the Season of Ordinary Time. He points to Jesus, the Lamb of God who unites time and eternity in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and even January’s diminishing darkness seems to echo St. John’s prayer: “He must increase, and I must decrease.”
In this liturgical season the Church eagerly follows Our Lord as he gathers his apostles and announces his mission. At Cana’s wedding feast (The Second Luminous Mystery) he performs his first public miracle at the request of his Mother, and his disciples saw his glory and believed in him.
We, his present-day disciples pray for a like faith as we contemplate the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb and the unique role of the Blessed Mother in the plan of salvation. May we wholeheartedly obey her words of counsel: “Do whatever he tells you.”
January
Travel[2]
January 1-30 Jasper in January CANADA
January 1-30 Stay at a Ice Hotel Sweden
January 1-Coney
Island Plunge NY
January 1-15 See the Trains in
the Garden NY
January 5-8-Elvis Birthday Celebration
TN
January 9-12 Consumer
Electronics Show NV
January 11-14 Winterskol Aspen CO
January 23-28 Foodie Fest FL
Iceman’s Calendar
·
Monday,
January 1st Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God
o
Novena to the Holy Face Day 5
·
January 3rd First
Wednesday
·
January 5th MASS
First Friday
·
January 6th Feast
of the Epiphany
·
January 7th Epiphany
Sunday MASS
·
January 8th Plough
Monday
·
January 14th Second
Sunday after Epiphany
·
January 15th Martin
Luther King Day
·
January 21st Third
Sunday after Epiphany
·
January 25th Conversion
of St. Paul
·
January 28th Septuagesima
JANUARY 1 Monday
MARY, MOTHER OF GOD-NEW YEARS DAY
Psalm 46, Verse 3-4
3 Thus
we do not FEAR, though earth be
shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea, 4 though
its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.
The Roman soldiers guarding His tomb did not fear
God even though the earth did shake and having witnessed His resurrection for
they did not confess with their lips that Jesus is Lord; yet they did fear the
Jews and took their money which they died with. Today confess Him with your
lips knowing that Christ is the conqueror of the Nations for He is our refuge
and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on
earth; Who stops wars to the ends of the earth, breaks the bow, splinters the
spear, and burns the shields with fire; “Be still and know that I am God!
(Psalm 46:9-11)[3]
Solemnity of Mary
For Catholics, today is a holy day of obligation to honor Mary the Mother of God the second Eve: who is the first example of courage. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. (Luke 1:30-31)
On my 2006 visit to Israel my wife and I visited and had Mass on the Mount of the Beatitudes. I remember our Priests were a little miffed with the little sister who worked there. She was upset with us because it was a warm day and some in our group had taken off their sweaters and their arms were exposed. She was focused on the rules, as Christ pointed out to the Pharisees who were focused on the outside of the cup being clean rather than the inside being clean. Similarly, the beatitudes of our Lord seek to not do away with the rules (10 commandments) but points at our inner dispositions. I think Church of the Beatitudes which an octagon (eight sided) is best represents how me should seek to best conform our hearts and our dispositions to be more like that of Christ. On the floor of the Church of the Beatitudes are eight mosaics with words in Latin. They reflect the dispositions of our Lord which we are to emulate.
1. Charitas (a heart that burns with love of God and
benevolence toward others)
2. Prvdentia (forethought or prudence. Those who are
Prudent are far from indecisive, for their bold decisions bear no streaks of
doubt. Prudence disposes us to have a true care and concern for the health and
wellbeing of others)
3. Lavs
Tibi Christi (Praise God in
all that we do)
4. Temperantia (Temperance is a spirit of moderation and
personal restraint; to keep ourselves in balance physically, mentally,
spiritually and emotionally)
5. Fides (Faith in God; to trust Him; to give
yourself as He gave Himself)
6. Fortitvdo (fortitude and courage. We must have
the courage to allow Christ to increase in us)
7. Spes (Hope. We must hope in the good news
of Christ and trust ourselves in the church as we would a ship upon the waters)
8.
Ivstitia (Justice. Christ compels us to
not ignore others, to understand others, not to rationalize and/or justify our
questionable acts, do right even at risk of ourselves, and to pray for others.
Solemnity
of Mary, Mother of God - Day Eight of Christmas[4]
Although
New Year's Day is not celebrated by the Church, this day has been observed as a
holy day of obligation since early times due to the Solemnity of Mary, Mother
of God. Each family and country have different traditional foods to eat on New
Year's Day, with lentils being the main superstition: ill luck befalling those
who do not eat lentils at the beginning of the year.
New
Year's is a day of traditional hospitality, visiting and good cheer, mostly
with a secular view, but there is no reason that this day, too, could not be
sanctified in Christ.
·
Day Eight activity (New Year's Day Party)
·
Day Eight recipe (New Year's Pretzel)
8th day of Christmas The Eight Maids a milking is a sign for the eight beatitudes. Today would be a good day to reflect on them.
- Blessed
are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed
are the meek: for they shall possess the land.
- Blessed
are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.
- Blessed
are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their
fill.
- Blessed
are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
- Blessed
are the clean of heart: they shall see God.
- Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
- Blessed
are they that suffer persecution for justice’s sake: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Feast of the Circumcision[5]
The Feast of the
Circumcision combines and celebrates many things. On the one hand, the feast
celebrates the Octave of the Nativity and the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin
Mary (partially because the pope celebrated Mass in St. Mary Major on this
day). On the other hand, it commemorates the Circumcision of our Lord which,
though a cause of joy, is the cause of a more subdued kind of joy because it
involves the shedding of our Lord's blood. There is also a tradition in the
Roman church of penitence as a counterpoint to the pagan reveling of the day (a
counterpoint which is necessary as much today as it was then). The Church
delicately balances all of these elements in a single feast to God.
· As mentioned above, it is traditional in France for adults to exchange gifts on this day. This custom is known as les étrennes.
·
Today, on the day in which St. Joseph circumcised
our Lord (thereby consecrating him for God's holy service), was the festival
for subdeacons.
New Year’s Day and
the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord.[6]
WHY do we call this New Year’s Day?
Because the civil year begins on this day, as the ecclesiastical does on the first Sunday in Advent.
What ought we to do on this day?
We must dedicate the New Year to the service of God, in order that, assisted by His grace, we may both begin and end it to His honor, and our own sanctification.
Why do we wish each other a happy New Year?
To renew love and harmony, and to fulfil an obligation of charity by wishes for each other’s happiness and prosperity.
What feast does the Church celebrate on this
day?
The circumcision of Christ, at which He received the name of Jesus. “But when the fulness of time was come, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law (Gal. iv. 4, 5).
Aspiration.
O my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I thank Thee for having to-day shed Thy blood for the first time for me. Grant me, I beseech Thee, the grace of mortifying, circumcising for Thy love, my eyes, ears, lips, hands, feet, and all my sensual appetites, that I may not see, hear, speak, touch, wish, or do any evil. Amen.
Prayer.
O God, Who by the fruitful virginity of the blessed Mary hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may experience her intercession for us, through whom we have received the Author of life, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
GOSPEL. Luke ii. 21.
At that time: After eight days were accomplished that the child should be circumcised: His name was called JESUS, which was called by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Why was Christ circumcised the eighth day of His birth?
1. So that by fulfilling the Jewish law, He might
teach us patience and obedience to the law of God, and to His holy Church.
2. To show His infinite love to us in the very first days of His life. Who gave Him the name of Jesus? God Himself gave it to Him, Who came to save the world and sanctify us, for Jesus means Savior. It is, therefore, that holy and powerful name, whereby alone we can be saved (Acts iv. 12).
What
power has this name?
A divine power: for in this name the apostles cast out devils and cured the sick (Mark xvi. 17, 18), as, for instance, the lame man who lay at the gate of the temple (Acts iii. 2-6). Through this name we receive from God whatever is helpful towards our salvation (John xiv. 13). It is well, therefore, to call on this holy name in adversities, in doubts, and in great temptations, particularly such as are hostile to purity. Even when we are so unhappy as to fall into sin, the remembrance of this holy name may bring us back to virtue, for it is as oil which en lightens, nourishes, and heals (Canticles i. 2, 3).
How must we speak this holy name, that its virtue may be felt?
With the greatest devotion and veneration, and with unbounded confidence; for, as St. Paul says, “in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (Phil. ii. 10). How sinful, therefore, is it in some to speak this name almost at every word, frivolously and disrespectfully; a habit which, in this country particularly, is so widely and fatally prevalent.
New
Year's Day[7]
New Year's Day marks the start of a new year on the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and began to be used in Britain and its colonies in 1751. It is a solar calendar which maintains synchrony with the tropical year. This holiday is celebrated every year on January 1st.
New Year's Day Facts
·
Baby
New Year is the most common symbol associated with this holiday. He is a
toddler dressed in a diaper, hat, and sash bearing the numbers of the New Year.
The myth states that he matures into an old man during the course of the
year. On December 31st, he hands his hat and sash to the new Baby New
Year.
·
In
early Roman calendar New Year was celebrated on March 1st. The new celebration
of New Year on January 1st started in Rome in 153 BC. The New Year was moved to
January because it was a month when two newly elected Roman consuls began their
tenure, which reflected the beginning of civil year.
·
In
medieval Europe celebrations of New Year on January 1st were not always
observed. Sometimes it was celebrated on Dec. 25th, March 1st and March 25th
(The Feast of the Annunciation).
· Gregorian calendar came into force in 1582, which replaced the Julian calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. After adoption of Gregorian calendar, January 1st was restored as New Year’s Day.
New Year's Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Visit
Times Square and watch the ball drop in New York City to celebrate the New
Year.
·
Sing Auld Lang Sine and kiss a loved one at the stroke of midnight.
·
Make
new resolutions for the upcoming year and let go of what happened in the
previous one.
·
Take
advantage of New Year's Eve skiing at a local ski hill near you. Usually, the
hills are less crowded and offer discounts on this holiday.
· New Year – means new trails to hike. Go hiking on a New Year’s Day to make a good start from day one and get motivated.
Polar Bear Swim Day[8]
Strip down to your bathing suit,
take a few steps over the snow and ice covering the ground, and hurl your body
into ice-cold water. Sound like fun? Well, there are plenty of people who
think it does, and these people get together to this every year! Sometimes it’s
for charity and sometimes it’s just for a challenge, but either way, thousands
of people worldwide take to the icy winter waters every year. These swims are
understandably called “Polar Bear Swims”, and they usually take place in the
sea.
Polar Bear Swims have been
practiced for well over a hundred years in different countries. The first
recorded Polar Bear Swim took place in Boston 1904. In many Canadian
communities, plunging into icy water for a swim is a New Year’s Day
tradition. Vancouver’s annual Polar Bear Swim Club has been active since 1920
and usually has 1,000 to 2,000 registered participants every New Year’s
Day, with a record 2,128 registrants taking part in the Polar Bear Swim in
English Bay in 2000.
It would seem that he Netherlands
have greatly outdone North America, as about 10,000 people have been
diving into the icy cold sea water at Scheveningen, The Netherlands’ main
beach resort town, every year since 1960. In fact, it is estimated that all
over the Netherlands, 30,000 people take part in what they call
“Nieuwjaarsduik” New Year’s dive) each and every year.
New Year’s Day is thought to be the
best day for this kind of swim, because as many participants have noted,
after you’ve done that, no challenge the New Year could bring could
possibly phase you. However, some swimming clubs organize regular winter
sessions. Plungapalooza is the largest polar bear plunge in the United
States, held annually at Sandy Point State Park in Maryland.
The event, that raises funds for
the Special Olympics, has managed to collect millions of dollars. The largest
Plungapalooza to date took place in 2008, with an estimated 12,000 people
participating.
How to Celebrate Polar Bear
Swim Day
·
It’s
actually quite simple: take part! Find out where the nearest Polar Bear Swim
Day will be organized, and sign up. You can help raise money for those who need
it, meet new friends and make some incredible memories! However, you should
keep in mind that human beings don’t have the fat and fur that polar bears
have to protect them from the cold.
·
Enter
the water slowly so it’s not too much of a shock, and be sure to have a towel
and dry clothes ready for as soon as you come out of the water. You should also
warm your body up afterwards from the inside out with a hot drink or bowl of
soup. The Polar Bear Swim is also not right for everyone, as it triggers many
intense bodily reactions—you may start to hyperventilate because of the
inability to take a deep breath for the first 30 seconds or so, and your
heartbeat and blood pressure will probably increase drastically.
·
So,
if you have any heart condition or have the tendency to panic, you may be
better off standing on the shore in your nice warm coat, hat and scarf, taking
pictures and laughing at the people running right back out of the water as
quickly as they ran into it. Either way, you will be able to be part of the
fun!
Over time, we as humans have developed a different attitude towards nature and we've forgotten about our inner power. This is the ability of our body to adapt to extreme temperature and survive within our natural environment. The Wim Hof Method is based on this principle.
Because we wear clothes and artificially control the temperatures at home and at work, we've greatly reduced the natural stimulation of our bodies, atrophying the age-old mechanisms related to our survival and basic function. Because these deeper physiological layers are no longer triggered, our bodies are no longer in touch with this inner power. The inner power is a powerful force that can be reawakened by stimulating these physiological processes through the Wim Hof Method.
Start learning the Wim Hof Method today and start your journey to a happier, healthier and stronger you.
300 Club[10]
The 300 Club is a small number of individuals who have endured a temperature difference of 300° Fahrenheit (166 °C) within a very short time. The group originated at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, and has since been established in North America. The Ceremonial South Pole, which 300 Club participants must run around. Participants in the Antarctic 300 Club wait for a day when the temperature drops to −100 °F (-73 °C) for more than a few minutes, generally in the winter. They first warm up in a sauna heated to 200 °F (93 °C) for as long as 10 minutes. Then they run naked to the Geographic South Pole, circling it in the −100 °F weather. After this, they usually warm up in the sauna again, often with the aid of alcoholic beverages. The first 300 Club outside of Antarctica was established on January 30, 2019 near Minneapolis, Minnesota during a polar vortex. With an outside temperature of −27 °F (−33 °C), three men heated their backyard sauna to 280 °F (138 °C) and sat inside for 10 minutes. Upon exiting the sauna, they sprinted around a flagpole planted in honor of the South Pole tradition and took a brief roll in the snow before returning to the sauna. There are several patches made to commemorate the occasion that are entitled to be worn by those who have joined the 300 Club.
250 Club[11]
Brillo and I decided to use the day off to
head on over to the South Pole ourselves.
It was about a half a mile away, but it took us a lot longer than we
thought. It was slow trekking the
distance through the loose snow. Along
the way, we passed a railroad sign that some humorous person put up out
there. When we got there, our intent was
While we were in the sauna, we decided today
was the day we were going to join club 250.
As soon as we got so warm, we couldn’t stand it anymore; we jumped out
of the sauna with nothing but our boots running the distance from the sauna; up
a 100-foot ramp to the outside of the station where it was about 50 below
zero. Thus, the name, club 250, we went
from plus 200 to minus 50 and made a 250-degree temperature change.
Brillo and I quickly headed back to the
sauna as we were just beginning to lose our steam.
Christ taken to the Ends of the
Earth-December 1973[12]
On Sunday, it was my chance to make a phone patch to my
parents everything worked great but then I found out they changed their number.
What! Here I was in Antarctica working my ass off; freezing my ass off and my
alcoholic Father changed the phone number and to make matters worse I knew
nothing of what was going on with my parents because they hadn’t written me in
the two years I had been in the Navy. I thought, “That’s it, I am an orphan.”
After my failed phone patch, I went to Mass. The Catholic Priest from McMurdo
took a flight up to bring us Holy Communion. We had not been able to receive
Communion since we left. I felt good after receiving Our Lord. I thought that
even though I had no communication with my physical Father I did have
communication with my eternal Father. Afterwards I showed the Priest around the
site, before he left, he said that he had a letter from the Bishop which gave
me permission (Back then only Priests could give communion) to secure and give
Holy Communion to the Catholic Boys there at the South Pole. I didn’t feel
worthy; come on this is Richard you know; but the Priest convinced me that it
was the only way, and I did want to bring “Our Lord” to my fellow brothers in
Christ. I thought about my experiences in Barbados, West Indies where I had a
friendly relationship with a Jesuit Priest on the Island. I was stationed in
Barbados after “A-School;” just prior to my assignment with MCB 71. It was luck
or maybe providence that I got my first assignment to Barbados, West Indies. At
the end of “A School”, I ended up having the highest-grade average-probably due
to I studied and drank less than the others drank. The Chief had six orders for
Vietnam and one set of orders for Barbados. I was given the orders to Barbados.
It was while I was in Barbados that I was examining my Catholic Faith and was
considering a faith change because I was also involved with a non-Catholic
Pentecostal religious group and because my Father had not practiced the
Catholic Faith. I was at a point where I had to decide to be a Catholic or not.
I was praying about it and one night I had a horrid dream where a horribly
disfigured face appeared in white on a dark background. I woke up in a sweat. I
was disturbed by the thought of this vision. I got on my motorcycle and rode
around the island. It was a four-hour ride. At the end of the ride, I passed a
church and turned around to go in and pray. I knew I needed God in my life.
After a short prayer, I was walking out of the church and there right next the
exit door in a pamphlet rack, at eye level was the face in my dream. I was
shocked, I pulled the pamphlet out and trembling read that this was the image
of the reported face of Christ. It was on the burial cloth of Christ and was
stored in a Catholic Church in Italy. I decided God was calling me back to the
Catholic Faith. Why me? Why did he appear to me sinner that I was; I knew not.
Yet, because of the memory of this call from Christ, I knew I had to consent to
bring his precious body to my brother Seabees. The priest also left me a book
to read. The book explained the Catholic faith. As I read it, I knew and
understood my faith better. I was especially taken by an Old Catholic symbol,
and I drew it on a small red flag and wore that symbol on my back declaring
myself an ICEMAN for Christ. The symbol means “Jesus Christ Conqueror” Now
instead of a blue ribbon of pain. I had a flag for victory. I still was the
same old sinner, but the flag reminded me of God’s ever presence, even here at
the bottom of the world.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION ONE-MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE
SPIRIT
CHAPTER
ONE-THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Article 7-THE VIRTUES
II. The Theological Virtues
1812 The human virtues are
rooted in the theological virtues, which adapt man's faculties for
participation in the divine nature: for the theological virtues relate
directly to God. They dispose Christians to live in a relationship with the
Holy Trinity. They have the One and Triune God for their origin, motive, and
object.
1813 The theological virtues
are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its
special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are
infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as
his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence
and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are
three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.
Faith
1814 Faith is the theological
virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed
to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth
itself. By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." For
this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous
shall live by faith." Living faith "work(s) through charity."
1815 The gift of faith remains
in one who has not sinned against it. But "faith apart from works is
dead": when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully
unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.
1816 The disciple of Christ
must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently
bear witness to it, and spread it: "All however must be prepared to
confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst
the persecutions which the Church never lacks." Service of and
witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: "So everyone who
acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in
heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who
is in heaven."
Hope
1817 Hope is the theological
virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our
happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own
strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is
faithful." "The Holy Spirit . . . he poured out upon us richly
through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and
become heirs in hope of eternal life."
1818 The virtue of hope
responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of
every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies
them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement;
it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in
expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from
selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.
1819 Christian hope takes up
and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in
the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God
fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the sacrifice. "Hoping
against hope, he believed, and thus became the father of many nations."
1820 Christian hope unfolds
from the beginning of Jesus' preaching in the proclamation of the beatitudes.
the beatitudes raise our hope toward heaven as the new Promised Land; they
trace the path that leads through the trials that await the disciples of Jesus.
But through the merits of Jesus Christ and of his Passion, God keeps us in the
"hope that does not disappoint." Hope is the "sure and
steadfast anchor of the soul . . . that enters . . . where Jesus has gone as a
forerunner on our behalf." Hope is also a weapon that protects us in
the struggle of salvation: "Let us . . . put on the breastplate of faith
and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." It affords us
joy even under trial: "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation." Hope
is expressed and nourished in prayer, especially in the Our Father, the summary
of everything that hope leads us to desire.
1821 We can therefore hope in
the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his
will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of
God, to persevere "to the end" and to obtain the joy of heaven,
as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of
Christ. In hope, the Church prays for "all men to be saved." She
longs to be united with Christ, her Bridegroom, in the glory of heaven:
Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.
Charity
1822 Charity is the theological
virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor
as ourselves for the love of God.
1823 Jesus makes charity the
new commandment. By loving his own "to the end," he makes
manifest the Father's love which he receives. By loving one another, the
disciples imitate the love of Jesus which they themselves receive. Whence Jesus
says: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my
love." and again: "This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you."
1824 Fruit of the Spirit and
fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ:
"Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my
love."
1825 Christ died out of love
for us, while we were still "enemies." The Lord asks us to love
as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest
away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.
The Apostle
Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: "charity is patient
and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.
Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it
does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
1826 "If I . . . have not
charity," says the Apostle, "I am nothing." Whatever my
privilege, service, or even virtue, "if I . . . have not charity, I gain
nothing." Charity is superior to all the virtues. It is the first of
the theological virtues: "So faith, hope, charity abide, these three. But
the greatest of these is charity."
1827 The practice of all the
virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything
together in perfect harmony"; it is the form of the virtues; it
articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of
their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to
love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.
1828 The practice of the moral
life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the
children of God. He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or
as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him
who "first loved us":
If we turn
away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If
we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally, if
we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands .
. . we are in the position of children.
1829 The fruits of charity are
joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it
is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous;
it is friendship and communion:
Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why
we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: End
to Abortion
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Monday: Litany of
Humility
·
Rosary
[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/01.cfm
[2]https://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travel-tips/articles/travel-calendar
[3]Notice 9-11 patriot day
[4]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-01-01
[5]http://www.holytrinitygerman.org/xmascustoms.html#circumcision
[6]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896. In the General Roman
Calendar, the 1 January feast, which from 1568 to 1960 was called
"The Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity",
is now named the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the Octave Day of
the Nativity of the Lord.
[7]https://www.wincalendar.com/New-Years-Day
[8]https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/polar-bear-swim-day/
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_Club#The_200_Club
[11] Except from the “Ice is Nice and Chee
Chee is Peachy”
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